MOD apologises for slashing pension of Gulf War hero who later died

Last updated at 16:56 30 October 2007

The Ministry of Defence has apologised over the case of a disabled Gulf War veteran who died shortly after his pension was slashed.

Terry Walker was one of many servicemen who suffered from a range of health problems, often termed Gulf War Syndrome, which they believe resulted from exposure to chemicals during the 1991 war to remove Saddam Hussein from Kuwait.

He was awarded a War Disablement Pension, but in March this year it was slashed by 60 per cent, reducing his income by more than £80 a week and leaving him and his two children in what he said was "financial ruin".

He died of a heart attack two months later, at the age of 48, after suffering from pneumonia.

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Earlier this month, the day before a defence minister was due to face a question about Mr Walker's case in the House of Lords, the MoD admitted an "error" had been made.

In a letter to Mr Walker's father, Ted, the MoD's Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) offered backdated repayments of the War Disablement Pension from March until the date of his death, as well as a "consolatory payment" of £500.

SPVA assistant director Peter Hulme wrote: "After reconsidering the evidence we hold and seeking advice from the Agency's policy team, we have decided that it was not appropriate to reduce Terence's pension and I sincerely apologise for this error."

Mr Hulme said that that "consolatory payment" was "not intended to put a value on the distress suffered, but to acknowledge and apologise for our error".

Ted Walker today said the MoD had since agreed to make a contribution towards his son's funeral costs.

He said he would continue to fight for support for his divorced son's two children, who are not entitled to receive payments of their father's pension after his death.

He said no explanation had ever been given for the decision to cut his son's pension, or for its restoration to its previous level.

Mr Walker Senior said he was "very, very annoyed" over the offer of a £500 additional payment.

"If they think the life of a soldier is worth £500, then they should start thinking again," he said.

"How many more Gulf War veterans are going to die before we take care of them properly?"

Defence minister Lord Drayson apologised to the Walker family in the House of Lords earlier this month, in response to a question from Lord Morris of Manchester, the former minister for the disabled who has taken up his case.

Lord Morris said: "This was a frank admission of grievous error in cutting Terry's war disablement pension by 60%. That was a savage cut."